Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UPAC S-100 (Feasibility study for URBAN PROTECTION AVIATION COPTER S-100)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2015-07-01 al 2015-12-31
SCHIEBEL’s UPAC S-100 will revolutionize disaster relief, protection and surveillance of critical infrastructure and other areas in civil and urban environments, such as:
- Supporting first responders in monitoring disaster areas (e.g. the fire brigade in locating a fire, where people are exiting or how to get around the problem area)
- Instantly creating a temporary mobile phone network in only 30 minutes, dropping leaflets and talking to people via loudspeakers in case of destroyed infrastructure
- Entering contaminated areas (too risky for manned assets) and identifying (through sensors) biological/chemical hazard leaks
- Fast and flexible response to criminal acts (including terrorism)
- Inspections/maintenance of critical infrastructures, e.g. power lines and pipelines
- Improving coast guard activities, maritime emergency response and border control
- Monitoring and supporting operations in agricultural activities and alpine rescue
In the long term, the UPAC S-100 shall become a fundamental support tool for monitoring, controlling and supporting activities in urban areas, especially in the ever increasing number of megacities worldwide.
It defined precisely the market potential in terms of markets, volume, geographical areas, type of clients, potential revenues and market size, establishing a roadmap with clear priorities, actions and targets. The main assessment is the recommendation to continue with the project and develop a prototype for the civil market that complies with actual and future requirements.
Concerning the impact, the Feasibility Study has provided a much wider view of the market opportunities for a civil RPAS. Additionally to its use in protecting urban infrastructures, several opportunities have been identified in the maritime, agricultural, energy and homeland security markets. Furthermore, a completely new perspective in terms of impact has been identified in the upcoming potential use of RPAS as “airborne Sentinels” in megacities, where SCHIEBEL has the potential to be one of the leaders in the market.
The implication of a RPAS operating in the civil market is wide:
- Personnel working under extreme conditions (e.g. rescue, security sectors) will be relieved
- Use of manned aircraft for dangerous operations (e.g. agricultural sector) will not be needed
- Tedious surveillance operations (energy pipelines, critical infrastructures) will be optimized
- Overall surveillance and coordination of actions in (mega)cities will be optimized
In summary, security and quality of life of people working in dangerous operations and of the general population in general will be greatly improved with the implementation of RPAS in the civil market.